The bicameral conference committee on Wednesday approved the proposed PHP4.5-trillion national budget for 2021.

House of Representatives appropriations committee vice chair, Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, said both chambers of Congress are expected to ratify the panel report later in the afternoon.

“The ball will be in the President’s court early, so there is almost no risk that we will face a delayed budget enactment this year. That can only mean well for 2021 economic recovery,” Salceda said.

He noted that the early passage of the 2021 General Appropriations Act, along with the expected adoption of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act, would be strong foundations for the country’s economic “bounceback”.

“With these reforms done, we can focus on economic relief and the vaccine rollout,” Salceda said.

Apart from the PHP1.1 trillion-allocation for infrastructure, he said, the 2021 budget also includes PHP7.6 billion in additional spending for adapting to the post-Covid life, including items on telecommunications enhancements.

Salceda said the budget also includes PHP203 billion for health care.

While the 2021 budget deficit is expected to be at 8.5 percent of the gross domestic product, this can still be narrowed, he said.

“The actual budget deficit ultimately depends upon how fast we spend, how quickly the economy recovers, and how well we collect revenues. We cannot slow down spending during the recovery. It is vital that we spend quickly. But we can make collection more efficient,” Salceda said.

He added that the House ways and means committee has measures worth PHP651 billion in revenue-raising potential that could be enacted immediately but imposed post-2022.

“We can postpone the effectivity of new revenue measures to after the recovery, but I am confident that these will be priced into our credit ratings nonetheless. So, we should be fine,” Salceda said. (PNA)